London's own domain name launches in April

London will become one of the first cities in the world to have its own domain
name from April 29, when applications for .london open to the public – but
it will be a further three months before anyone finds out if they have been
successful in staking a claim

London will become one of the first cities in the world to have its own domain name on April 29 when .london opens to the public – but it will be a further three months before applicants find out if they succeeded in staking a claim.

Once applications open there will be a three month wait for the first names to be issued. At the end of this period those which were only requested by one person or company will be simply handed out, and any disputes will be settled according to a hierarchy of priorities.

First in line to any claim will be those who already have a trademark on the name, giving companies a chance to bag appropriate domains. Then come Londoners with pre-existing domains under different suffixes (telegraph.co.uk applying for telegraph.london would qualify here, for example).

If there are several competitors for a name and none have a strong case for priority then it will go under auction to the highest bidder.

Because of this lengthy process it will be at least July before those applying for a domain can launch their site.

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However, it is hoped that there will be a “pioneer program” to hand out domains immediately after launch to 100 high-profile businesses, including Selfridges, thanks to a special exemption applied for from the California non-profit organisation that controls the creation and allocation of domain names, ICANN. If granted, this will skip the three-month application process and the two-month wait normally imposed by ICANN on new domain launches.

The group has now set up Dot London Domains Ltd to operate the new registry on a commercial basis and announced an April launch date this morning.

So far there have been no decisions made on pricing of .london domain names, as Dot London will act as a wholesaler and buyers will ultimately make purchases through existing registrars after they add a mark-up. Dot London warns anyone who has already been approached with an early offer and a request for payment to “treat it with caution”.

London has been beaten to the honour of being the first city with its own domain name by Berlin (.berlin) and Vienna (.wein) but will launch ahead of New York’s .nyc. And the early signs are that the names will be in demand.

Martha Lane Fox, co-founder lastminute.com and former government digital champion, backs the new domain: “The new generic domain names are a big change to the web. .london offers businesses and organisations in the capital a chance to be at the cutting edge of that change and show the world how innovative they can be.”

The Meantime brewery

A YouGov survey of over 1,000 small businesses in London also showed that one in four were likely to make an application. If extrapolated, this would suggest 200,000 sales from industry alone.

Half of those expressing an interest (48 per cent) said that they would do so because they are proud to be a London business, 41 per cent said a .london web address would help customers find them more easily and 27 per cent said it would help generate more sales.

Some businesses have already expressed an interest in buying a .london domain. Nick Miller, chief executive of Meantime Brewing Company, said: “Meantime is a company with its roots firmly planted in the fabric of London. Innovation and creativity is at the heart of everything we do. As London prepares to embark on an exciting new chapter in the digital evolution of business in the city, we are excited to support and celebrate the introduction of .london.”

David Pegler, chief executive of ExCeL London, said: “London is one of the world’s leading destinations for event organisers. Last year we welcomed over 3.6 million visitors to ExCeL London, of which 900,000 were international business tourists. That activity generated £2.9 billion of economic impact and supported 31,000 jobs. A .london internet address will magnify our global reach and support us in bringing world class events to London from the rest of the UK and abroad.”